Answering LinkedIn Questions: Direct Mail, Branding, Customer Loyalty

LinkedIn Answers is where LinkedIn members go to ask and answer questions of other members. I’ve picked a few out from the past month that I think are appropriate to answer on this blog.

When tying to reach the 45+ marketing, what’s better; direct mail or email newsletters?

My Answer:
Josh’s questions pits traditional media vs. new online media. At age 45, you’re getting perilously close to the digital media divide. Adults over age 50 tend to prefer traditional media. Those under age 50 are more accepting of the new media. Then younger your target demographic the more accepting they are of the new, digital forms media. For Josh to make his decision, it would depend on how much of his target demographic is over age 50.

When someone says I’m trying to target adults 45+ that usually means much of the audience will be over age 50. In this situation, I would recommend direct mail for Josh. Mailing lists can be highly targeted by age. What Josh might also do is include a special website landing page and include that web address in his direct mail piece. He can then offer subscriptions to email newsletters in lieu of receiving direct mail.

What forms of media do you include in your branding strategy and why?

My Answer:
To get to the heart of this question you have to first answer the question: What is branding? Branding is the process of creating a psychological, emotional relationship between a business and a potential customer. That means causing people to have thoughts, feelings and opinions about your business. But not just any old thoughts, feelings and opinions. The heart of your branding efforts is your Brand Promise.

So to rephrase Vicki’s question: “What media can I use to create a relationship with potential customers based on my brand promise?” And there is no one, all-encompassing answer to that question. The answer will be directed, however, by your brand promise. For example, my primary media for The Marketing Spot branding is blogging. However, for a local car dealership communicating the brand promise of forming a family bond, radio or television might be best.

How can you stimulate customer loyalty when times are tough and increasingly competitive?

My Answer:
There’s no doubt that customers don’t want to spend any more money than they have to spend on a product or service. But there’s also no doubt that they are not simply looking for the lowest price. If they were, the lowest price would always win and everyone would shop at Walmart. Because that’s not the case there has to be another factor, and that factor is the customer’s experience. The customer’s experience with a business is the number one determinant of customer loyalty.

Stimulating customer loyalty means striking a balance between value and experience delivery. Instead of focusing only on the price end of that equation, concentrate on what you can do to enhance the customer experience. Not only will create better value, you will also stimulate customer loyalty. For more on increasing loyalty through the customer experience, see my free recorded webinar: How to Create a Remarkable Offline and Online Customer Experience

Continue reading here: Why Blogging is So Difficult for Some Businesses

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